Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

My Favorite YA Since Rainbow Rowell!

Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth

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Author Alexene Farol Follmuth (aka Olivie Blake of The Atlas Six fame) wrote Twelfth Knight as an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night. And, as the writer herself notes in the back matter of the book, the novel is written in the vein of early 2000s teen rom-coms (I’m thinking She’s the Man, for obvious reasons). The book follows the lives of two main characters: Viola “Vi”  Reyes and Jack “Duke” Orsino. Vi presents to her schoolmates as unapologetically herself – blunt, smart, and a […]

For everyone who was born before us, your story matters.

Back Then: A queer journey back in time by Ralf König and Łukasz Majcher

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Read what the old gay uncles and lesbian aunts have to say in colorful picture stories. And let’s all continue to fight together so that this will never happen again. ― Ralf König, Back Then: A queer journey back in time CBR16 Bingo: Pride I picked this up a couple of months ago at a literary festival. Other than Heartstopper and other Alice Oseman books, I’ve never bought graphic novels or comic books. One of the illustrators was selling this book as well as her […]

Bittersweet Coming of Age Manga

The Golden Sheep Vol. 1-3 by Kaori Ozaki

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Reading this was a good way to start the new year. The Golden Sheep is a three volume series that follows Tsugu as she returns to her childhood town after her parents get divorced. She is excited to reunite with her three childhood friends and get back to their previous closeness. However, while she’s been away dynamics have shifted and her reappearance riles things up. Tsugu expects things to have remained the same, but the friendship between the two boys (Yuushin and Sora) has turned […]

There are no distractions from you. You’re every idea I’ve ever had.

The Roots that Clutch by TheCryingClub

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The Roots that Clutch ― TheCryingClub (A Normal People AU) I’ve taken a liking to Hozier’s music lately and I can trace the origin back to when I read this fic for the first time. I think what keeps pulling me back to it, and what resonated with me in Normal People, is the feeling of bittersweetness that lingers, mellowing from a sharp pain to a dull throb. It’s this gorgeous aching that pulls my mind back to this story again and again. The title […]

“I think everyone should just figure out what works for them and enjoy it on their own terms.”

I Think Our Son Is Gay Vol. 3 by Okura

I Think Our Son Is Gay Vol. 4 by Okura

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This is a very sweet slice-of-life series that follows Tomoko, a mother who suspects that her son Hiroki is gay. Throughout the course of the series, she challenges her own internalized prejudices and learns more about how to support her son even if he’s not able to come out to her yet. I think what stands out to me the most with this series is how grounded in reality it is. The author, Okura, is gay, and I think that lends itself to the books […]

“When you get older, you may never have anyone sing to you personally again, but go all over the world and I bet you can’t find one baby that has never been sung to.”

The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry

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Lynda Barry’s other near-perfect YA novel, The Good Times Are Killing Me, marks my completing re-reading her non comics work, as I read and reviewed Cruddy last year. I do think Cruddy is a singular work of genius, but this novel is a close second and one that I find deeply moving and beautiful. It’s a short book, only 131 pages, but Barry manages to pack a lot of emotion and layered, thoughtful commentary on growing up, friendship, systemic societal racism, and the power of […]



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